Wednesday, June 29, 2011

I received this e-mail from Jody Edinger, I think Jody is doing the right thing for the party, this guy would have made an excellent Alderman. I look forward to him running for office in the future.

After careful thought and consideration, I have decided I will not be a candidate for Alderman in Ward 7. With a very formidable Republican running in the November election, I feel it is important as Democrats that we stand united behind one candidate; so we can continue the great work and progress we have had under the leadership of our current Alderman Bill Reynolds.

Mary Ann Mills is someone that is very active in the community and someone that shares the values and vision that I feel are important in moving Kingston forward. I am confident that Ms. Mills will work hard to improve the quality of life for Kingstonians, keep their taxes at sustainable levels, while making sure services are provided to the ward. I urge my supporters and fellow residents to support Shayne Gallo for Mayor and Mary Ann Mills for Alderman of Ward 7.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The City of Kingston put on a great fireworks celebration this year as they always do. Had a great time at Mariner's Harbor and Ship to Shore.

All this would not have been possible if not for the great generosity of Mainetti, Mainetti and O'Connor. The law firm donates a large amount of money every year to pay for the firework celebration and they deserve a lot of credit.

Joe O'Connor is a great guy, him and his partners also happen to be some of the best lawyers in the area, especially in regards to personal injury cases.

Senator Steve Saland, has a lot of guts, he was one of three or four Republicans to vote in favor of marriage equality and it will now cost him the Conservative party's endorsement. Micheal Long, the Chairman of the State Conservative party said that a marriage is between a man and a woman and we can longer endorse candidates that don't respect that tradition.

I'm sorry to inform Mr. Long that his party is going to soon be extinct with that attitude. I can't believe that we have a political party that openly promotes hate and bigotry in 2011. It's unreal. Kudos to Senator Steven Saland.

Friday, June 24, 2011

There was a story written in the Freeman today that is purposely misleading based on information given by City Dem Chair Frank Cardinale. In the story, Cardinale gives two quotes that are very disturbing:

In the Fifth Ward, where original Democratic candidate Diann Keyser has dropped out, the committee is backing William Carey of 101 Hoffman St., according to city Democratic Chairman Frank Cardinale.

In the Seventh Ward, which also lacked a nominee after the May convention, the Democratic Committee is backing Maryann Mills, who lives at 61 Tammany St., to run against Republican Curtis Dankleman, Cardinale said.

O.k., both of those statements are simply untrue. The Democratic committee never meet and took a vote to back Ms. Mills or Mr. Carey. As a Democratic committeeman, I can tell you, I was at the committee meeting last Monday, no vote took place. There was discussion about two great candidates looking to run in Ward 7, Jody Edinger and Mary Ann Mills, no decision was made as to who to support, the Alderman of Ward 7 has not offered an opinion one way or another and ward 5 never came up at all.

The only way for the committee to endorse a candidate is at the unofficial convention, which took place a few weeks ago, neither Ms. Mills nor Mr. Carey were nominated. There is a method to replace a candidate through the committee to fill vacancies, however, that committee has not meet nor are they a valid committee until after the nominating petitions are filed.

Point blank, in my opinion it is very clear that Frank Cardinale lied to the Daily Freeman. The race for the Democratic nomination for Aldermen in Wards five and seven will be decided after primaries. Frank saying that a specific candidate has committee support when they do not gives them an unfair advantage in the primary and it's unfair and unethical.

I think it's time that Frank Cardinale think about whether or not he can continue to serve effectively as Chairman of the city committee.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

I see Matt Dunn pulling out a win, it's by no means a lock, Teetsel has an enrolment advantage but Dunn is a bright young lawyer that I think has a lot to offer. I wish Dunn the best and think he is involved for the right reasons. Gallo will probably carry Ward One and his coat tails can help carry Dunn into office. (Sottile carried the Republican Ward One both times he ran for Mayor as did T.R.)

Ward 2- Tom Hoffay (D, WFP) vs. Seth Allen (R, Indy, C)

Tom Hoffay has an edge but Seth Allen seems to be well liked. The pike plan and the proposed traffic Circe on Albany Ave. have enough people in a huff to make this a very competitive race.

Ward 3- Charlie Landi (D) vs. Horwitz (R, Indy, C)

I don't know Alderman Landi's opponents first name, he is the son of Ian Horwitz who is a great guy and a friend. I am supporting Charlie Landi and I think Alderman Landi will probably win pretty easily but both people running are decent people.

Ward 4 -Shirley Whitlock (D)

Shirley Whitlock will have no problem fending off her Republican opponent, whoever it is. Shirley is an Alderman that speaks her mind and is not afraid to ruffle some feathers. Whitlock is a good and effective voice for the people of Ward 4.

The primary will be Nick Woerner vs. Bill Carey, the Democratic party does not have an endorsed candidate, the woman who was nominated to run was forced to step aside for personal reasons. DiBella and company found Bill Carey to run. Carey is the brother in law of Peter Loughran, which is more than enough of a reason for me to support Woerner. Nick knows the drill, he is going to out work and out manoeuvre Carrey every step of the process and easily win the primary. Craig Johnson, the Republican does not really have a chance against either Woerner or Carrey, the primary is the election.

Ward 6- Elisa Ball (D, Indy)

Elisa Ball is to my knowledge running unopposed, and will easily be elected n November even if the GOP finds a last minute candidate. Elisa is smart, bubbly and not afraid to work, she will be an absolute asset to the Kingston Common council.

Ward 7- Jody Edinger (D), Mary Mills (D), Curtis Dankleman (R)

This race is wide open, Bill Reynolds is retiring after 18 years of dedicated service to the Ward. Jody Edinger and Mary Mills (I think is her name) will be seeking the Democratic line to face Republican Curtis Dankleman. Jody should have an edge to win the race, he is a local realtor, he has a lot of support from elected officials, including Elliott Auerbach and is very well liked in the ward. If Jody does not run, I think Ms. Mills would be a great asset to the council but it could go either way. While Ward 7 has been Democratic for 18 years, my Uncle Tony Crespino represented the Ward as a Republican for the same amount of time..it's a toss up.

Ward 8- Robert Senor (D, Indy) vs. Chuck Polocco (R)

Alderman Senor is a lock, from what I hear Mr. Polocco is a paper candidate and running as a favor to the party. Bob is a good Alderman and will cruise to another term.

Ward 9 -Halwick (D, WFP) vs.Simick (D) vs. Brown (R, C)

Mark Halwick is running and has a good shot of winning a seat on the council this time, Hlawick came up short on his first bid losing to Hayes Clement. Halwick faces a primary against Simick who will be tough to beat. I give a slight edge to Simick but think Halwick can pull out a victory. Ward 9 is 3:1 Democratic so whoever wins the primary will easily beat Downtown Debbie Brown who is running on the Republican line.

Chief Jerry Keller will be retiring in October and he deserves our thanks for his dedicated career in law enforcement and his commitment to making Kingston a safe place to live.

I first meet Jerry Keller when I was about 16 years old, I called him when I was organizing a neighborhood watch in Ward 7&8 with Bill Reynolds and Bob Senor. Keller invited me to his office gave me books he had on previous neighborhood watch programs and offered any help he could do to assist with the group, he came and spoke and it went well.

I got to become friends with the chief after that and would have coffee with him and a bunch of other people saturday mornings at the Foxhall Deli. Chief Keller is a man that is very community orianted, cares about people and someone that would give you the shirt off his back. Keller is also tough as nails and runs a great police department that under his leadership Kingston has witnessed sharp declines in serious crime.

Which is why it's disturbing with what went on with the Matthews situation and the timing of the Chief's retirement, people are whispering about the department and speculating based on nothing more than rumors. It's not fair to Keller, the people that are speculating and starting these rumors have no clue what they are talking about. One thing for certian is that Jerry Keller is as honest as the day is long and is a very effective police chief.

Jerry Keller who was trained by the FBI and holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from Marist will not be easy to replace and whoever the next chief of police is, will have some very big shoes to fill. I wish Chief Keller a happy retirement and thank him for his years of service to our community.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Marriage Equality bill will be voted on in the state senate any day now. Finally it looks like, same sex couples will be given the basic civil rights they deserve. This is long overdue, kudos to Governor Cuomo and Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, who has been a long time advocate. One should never be judged on things they have no control over, such as their race or sexual orientation.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

We have now officially had over 500,000 visitors!! Thanks everyone, it means a lot that you come and read my opinions on local politics. I hope for the most part you find this to be entertaining and informative. Looking forward to hitting the 1,000,000 mark!!!

Coming Soon: A look at the great work and career of Police Chief Jerry Keller as he prepares to retire. An early look at some of the common council match ups. And a feature on the race for Ulster County District Attorney...as always, Fair and Balanced. ;~)

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Hayes Clement claims in the paper that he would give up his full time job if elected Mayor but there are still lingering questions on whether or not Hayes Clement has the time or right focus to devout full time hours to the office of Mayor.

Mayor Jim Sottile stated in the Freeman article very clearly this is a full time demanding job, Mayor Sottile likes to tell everyone that he is on call 24/7 and there is no question that he is. Being Mayor is very demanding and is most defiantly full time.

With this in mind, it is disturbing that Hayes Clement is telling elected officials in the city that he plans to spend three days a week in New York City if elected to trump up economic development. (pretty much his current work schedule now) How Hayes being outside of Kingston will foster a climate to promote economic development is a question that will have to be answered by the voters in September.

What there is no question about is the fact that Hayes is not qualified to be Mayor and his neophyte status in the community, coupled with the fact he has never voted for the office he is seeking, raise some serious concerns with his candidacy. Is he ready to lead a community he has little ties to and has only been a resident of for 28 months?

New York’s Senator Gillibrand highlighted Jon Sennett’s experience, strong work ethic and his dedication to public integrity. A former Bronx Assistant District Attorney, Sennett has extensive experience as a prosecutor, in criminal defense and in family court. “I am very excited to support Jon Sennett for Ulster County District Attorney,” said Senator Gillibrand. “He brings a passionate commitment to the rule of law, public integrity and is focused on fighting crime at all levels."

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

"Now, I know how Shayne Gall felt "said Rich Cahill on his blog the night after the convention. In a lot of way there are no question similarities between our conventions.

Committee people lying about who they are supporting, a Chairman out front for a specific candidate in hopes the "wealthy" candidate will save the day, ect..

What happened the other night at the GOP Convention is exactly what happened at the Democratic convention.

I give our chairman credit, he, Clement and co. are at least running a whisper campaign against Gallo, and Cardinale did not actually tell people who to vote for as they walked in like Sinagra did for Andi Turko Levin. Both approaches are wrong, Cardinale just happens to be a bit smarter than Sinagra.Regardless, the Chairman of a political party should not be out front for a candidate, it's not their role and it's wrong.

I also want to point out something that Cahill said on his blog that really sums up what is going on the Democratic side, I can't speak on behalf of who Andi's supporters are but I think it's a similar situation (no disrespect to Andi, I don't know) Cahill said something to the effect that, you can't say you are a fresh face when you are being supported by the same good ol' boy crowd.

That really sums it up, here you have Hayes Clement saying he is this new fresh face..the only thing new about the guy is the amount of time he has lived here, which according to the board of elections is a little over 24 months...can you imagine, are you kidding me?? Putting that aside, he is being propped up by the same old faces: Tom Hoffay, Anne Marie DiBella, Frank Cardinale, David Donaldson...this IS the Good ol' Boys club. They are pulling Hayes' strings, nothing new, nothing fresh. The city electorate will not be hoodwinked into believing otherwise.As my Uncle, former Alderman and County Legislator Tony Crespino said, " the people of Kingston are not as stupid as we think." The people get it, and they know what is going on.

Getting back to the GOP, no question Rich Cahill got screwed. He built the city GOP and like him or hate him, he will probably win the primary. If that happens Chairman Sinagra will have to tender his resignation. As stated previously, it's going to be a long hot summer and I think it's about to get interesting.

Saturday, June 04, 2011

The race for Kingston Mayor is about to kick in to high gear, there will be a primary between Shayne Gallo and freshman Alderman Hayes Clement in September. Shayne Gallo has already been endorsed by the Working Families party and the Independence party. Hayes Clement received the backing of the Democrats' unofficial designating convention last Monday. It's going to be a long hot summer!

I think Hugh Reynolds said it best in his column this week, I don't have it in front of me but it was something along the lines that this primary is going to be a lot of work and Hayes Clement is not going to win it having little martini parties at his house. It's a street fight!

Reynolds is right. It is very clear that Hayes Clement is an out of touch elitist that practices the politics of political expediency. The first time Hayes voted in Kingston was in 2009, the same year he ran for the office of Ward nine Alderman, even though he claims to have lived here since 2005. I think he has an uphill battle winning against Democrat Shayne Gallo. While party bosses and insiders are with Hayes, the public and buzz is with Gallo. Shayne Gallo is a no nonsense type guy, a reformer and he will not tolerate the good ol' boy, politics as usual climate that exists, specifically with the current Kingston Common council ( with the exception of Bob Senor, Jen Fuentes and Charlie Landi). Insiders know that Gallo is someone they can't get to and they are terrified

A real text book lesson on the meaning of hypocrisy was given by our good friend Frank Dart last Tuesday at the city convention. Dart got up on behalf of Hayes Clement and pleaded that Democrats run a clean campaign. This coming from a guy that ran a smear campaign just two years ago that cost him his seat on the county legislature! However, it gets better, I am standing in the back of the room with Vincent Bradley Jr., while Frank Dart continues with his elegant (gag) speech : "Whatever happens we need to support whomever wins in September both Shayne and Hayes need to support the primary winner,WE DON'T WANT ANOTHER BRADLEY-SENNETT".

Not only is Vince standing in the back of the room while Frank is lecturing us and insulting Vince, (which no offence, I don't need to take advice from Frank Dart, ever!) but Dart was one of the most vocal people that supported Vince Bradley Jr., until the end. How do you spell hypocrite again? D-A-R-T!

The Independence party has officially endorsed Holly Carnright for Ulster County District Attorney. I am disappointed in their endorsement but I respect it, Jonathan Sennett will just have to work a little harder. Sennett has a lot of momentum right now and a passion and desire that wont be beaten. Sennett got a huge boost at the convention when Executive Mike Hein gave a really great nominating speech on his behalf. Minority Leader Jeanette Provanzano did an equally good job when she seconded Sennett's nomination.

While Mike Hein and Jonathan Sennett are in great shape, I am a little worried about Democrats' chances at taking back the County legislature. A lot like the Kingston city Democratic committee, some committee members on the county committee are also out of touch with the rank and file Democrats and they let their personal feelings get in the way of putting forward the most qualified and electable candidate in November.

Two examples:

Rich Parete, here is a guy that gets elected year after year. A legislator that works hard to always do the right thing for his constituents and one of the nicest guy you will ever meet. So, how does Marbletown Democratic committee reward Parete? They find someone to primary him of course!. The background on that is, I hear Shannon Schreibman, the wife of County Chair Julian Schreibman recruited Parete's opponent to get back at him for a number of things, the Schreibman/Parete feud dates back to 2007 when Parete supported Bradley over Schreibman and Sennett for District Attorney. That is the past and some people just can't move on.

Hector Rodriguez the Minority whip of the County Legislature is also facing a primary after being edged out by a former New Paltz Village Board member at the convention. Hector is a friend of mine and a hard working legislator, like Rich, there is no reason to primary the guy. Why is he being primaried? Well, two reasons: one of his fellow legislators helped make it happen and also the New Paltz Chairwoman Corinne Nyquist is upset with him over his support and help in getting Mayor Jason West reelected in New Paltz. You see eight years ago Jason West became Mayor by defeating Mayor Tom Nyquist, Corinne's husband and the Nyquist's are still upset about it to this day.

My point is this: 1. Rich Parete, Hector Rodriguez and Shayne Gallo probably all will win their primaries, the committee's unofficial endorsement is based on inside baseball, not ones qualifications and that is a sad reality. 2. In regards to the county legislature, we now have Democrats fighting with one another instead of focusing our efforts on helping new Dems get elected so we can pick up seats.

I will say this again our goal needs to be to defeat the Republicans, gain the majority, defeat Chairman Wadnola and his allies and elect Chairwoman Jeanette Provanzano. Furthermore, someone like Hector who usually would go out and help his fellow Democrats with their election/reelection, now can't because he is tied up in an unnecessary primary that he will ultimately win anyway. UNREAL!